A new study is out regarding growing direct connections between exposure to bisphenol-A (BPA) and the development of type 2 diabetes. Janet Raloff, ScienceNews, writes a great overview of the study and what it means for people:

““I don’t think that anyone can say now that low-dose effects don’t occur,” says endocrinologist Ana Soto of the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, who was not involved in the new work. “It shows that changes happen in human cells — and at concentrations comparable to current levels of human exposure.”

The new work shows that BPA stimulates insulin release through a hormone-activating protein called estrogen receptor beta, or ER-beta, says Angel Nadal of Miguel Hernández University in Elche, Spain, who led the new study. Tiny concentrations of either estrogen or BPA boost the release of insulin. When his group tested mice engineered to produce no ER-beta, the effect went away, demonstrating that the protein is integral to BPA’s perturbation of insulin secretion.”

We wanted to stress that individuals need to start taking BPA exposure seriously. Many canned foods and plastic containers (water bottles, toys, etc) still contain BPA. We suggest that you look for labels on items that say they are BPA free. To avoid BPA in canned foods switching to frozen foods is the easiest solution.

We will also point out that this is why the 638 plus day delay by the White House to act on a simple chemical warning list proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is so damaging. The list would not ban any chemical listed on it, but it would provide consumers with a clear and easy way to understand the latest scientific concerns regarding chemicals such as BPA. If it is on the list then consumers would know to be concerned and they could make the educated decision if and when they wan to expose their families to those chemicals. Why is that such a bad thing? We know it is because it will hurt some multi-national corporation’s bottom line and we can’t do anything that hurts Wall Street. Once again it is profit over health.

Some stories are sensational because they are the weird news of the day. Just take a look at the front page of Yahoo each day and you will see some story that is just crazy enough to get everyone talking – like today’s Crying Boy In Snow Video.

But the craziest and most disappointing story that is receiving very little media attention is the inability of the White House Office of Management and Budget taking no action for 638 days on the list of “chemicals of concern” submitted to them for approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Center for Public Integrity has a wonderful recap on the issue up on their iWatch News website:

“About 21 months ago, a proposed list of widely used chemicals that may pose health risks landed at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for review.

It’s still there.

An attempt by the Environmental Protection Agency to create a “chemicals of concern” list — part of the agency’s larger plans to improve what administrator Lisa Jackson has called an outdated and dysfunctional system for regulating toxic substances — remains stuck in the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).

The proposal has sparked heavy resistance among industry groups, some of which have met with White House officials and argued that releasing the list could harm the economy. By executive order, OIRA should finish such reviews within 90 days — or, in some cases, 120. Instead, it’s had the EPA list for 638 days — and counting.”

So why is it taking so long you ask? Easy answer. The chemical industry does not want this list published because they are afraid that such a list would educate consumers about the health risks of chemicals such as BPA and that consumer would demand that those chemicals be removed from consumer products (like baby bottles).

This amazing deliberate dragging of the feet by the White House should be on the front page of every newspaper. Of course the chemical industry and their umbrella organizations are attempting to scare the heck out of everyone regarding this list. They have stated that the publishing of this list would hurt the economy. Are you glad these” job creators” are looking out for your wallet? What they don’t tell you is the continued protecting of these chemicals will ensure that you have to use everything in that wallet to pay for the serious health consequences associated with these chemicals (like breast cancer).

Finally we want to ask once again that those current members of the White House stop dragging their feet on this. If you want to protect these corporations and their profits that is fine. But you owe it to every American to make a public decision and explain why you did it. It is not acceptable to continue to sit on this list for almost two years because you are afraid to piss off Exxon Mobile, Dow Chemical Company, BASF Corp, SABIC, American Chemistry Council and others. You were elected to lead on issues such as this and it is time to do something, even if we don’t like the answer.

Black History Month is always a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with those that have provided great leadership and events from our past. We believe that for there to be progress you must understand your past and where you have come from. At the same time though, we cannot dwell on events of the past to a point that we are unable to understand and address the current issues we face.

Today a story in the Maryland based Gazeete.Net demonstrates another issue that seems to lack a level of community awareness that it should. The story provides readers with data from Montgomery County that shows a disturbing ongoing trend in higher infant mortality rates for African American babies.

“In Montgomery County, a black woman is at least two times more likely to lose an infant within the first 30 days of life than a white woman, according to a report released by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

In 2010, the infant mortality rate for white women was 3.3 deaths per 1,000 births, according to the data. For black women, the rate was seven deaths per 1,000 births.”

There is an ongoing debate why we see this disparity in the infant mortality rate. Education and income inequalities don’t explain it. Is it issues of stress as some have proposed? Is it lack of education for expecting moms on things such as SIDS? It seems there is no clear answer. The lack of an answer though does not explain why there is no response from the overall community to this serious issue.

At some point we must stop letting issues such as these get put on the backburner. When it comes to African American women and pregnancy we seemed more concerned about trivial things such as if Beyonce was actually pregnant. We must find a way to move this discussion about infant mortality rates to the front of the line and work to ensure that we bring it down.

We have also written about another issue that seems to get little attention, but is connected to issues such as these. African American health research proposals continue to lag far behind in receiving funding grants. This lack of funding is directly related to the inability to get focused on issues such as the infant mortality rate. Without the necessary access to research funds we will never be able to provide answers to these why we face these problems. The time has come for our leaders, especially our elected ones, to get together and create a mechanism and/or research institution whose sole purpose will be to secure funds to do research on issues such as these.

The Grocer is running an updated story this morning providing further proof that major corporations are starting to worry about the use of BPA in their food products. The story focuses on food giant Heinz and there ongoing efforts to replace BPA from all their products.

“Nonetheless, Heinz said it had been looking for alternatives to BPA, and remained committed to moving away from its use. It does not use BPA in its babyfood packaging or in the plastic for its Beanz Snap Pots and Fridge Pack.”

We know that it is only a matter of time before all major food producers in the United States make a similar decision as Heinz. They know that the research continues to raise alarms about BPA exposure and if they continue to use it in their products they will more than likely face major lawsuits from consumers.

It is a shame that it is the fear of being sued is the driving force behind this movement. We once again wonder where is the Food and Drug Administration on this? Why are they continuing to drag their feet on adopting a ban on BPA? In addition where are the health advocacy groups such as Susan G. Komen For The Cure? BPA is connected to breast cancer development and obstructing the drugs used to fight breast cancer. Their silence is deafening and is actually more damaging than the recent spat regarding Planned Parenthood.